Greece’s Ministry of National Economy and Finance published a speech by Minister of National Economy and Finance and Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis to EU heads of diplomatic missions in Athens, in which he said Greece will announce final 2025 fiscal results on 22 April 2026 and expects a better-than-anticipated outcome, particularly on the surplus. He indicated this would create additional fiscal space under the European Union’s new fiscal rules, which the government intends to channel to citizens through targeted support. The remarks linked the macro outlook to the Middle East energy shock, with expectations of downward revisions to 2026 growth forecasts and upward revisions to inflation. He described the depth of the Strait of Hormuz crisis as depending on duration, damage to regional energy infrastructure (around 80 facilities affected, 30 seriously), and the post-crisis regime for the straits, and cited International Energy Agency actions including the potential release of 400 million barrels from strategic reserves; he also referenced estimates of oil supply disruption of around minus 13 million barrels per day and an annual natural gas production loss estimate of 110 billion cubic metres. National measures announced “a few weeks” earlier were described as temporary and targeted, including the Fuel Pass energy benefit, alongside a call for fiscal policy to remain aligned with the European Central Bank’s independently set monetary policy and with the European Commission’s policy framework. On EU priorities, he presented the Savings and Investment Union as a multi-strand agenda covering banking and capital market integration, citing an International Monetary Fund estimate that full implementation could raise European gross domestic product by 5% to 7%. He also highlighted artificial intelligence governance as an issue he intends to raise in the Eurogroup and pointed to the digital euro as a key EU project with an implementation horizon of 2029, arguing for faster progress as part of strengthening the euro’s international role.
Ministry of National Economy and Finance (Greece) 2026-04-21
Greece’s Ministry of National Economy and Finance flags better-than-expected 2025 fiscal outturn and calls for faster EU progress on the Savings and Investment Union and digital euro
Greece’s Ministry of National Economy and Finance published remarks by Minister and Eurogroup President Kyriakos Pierrakakis indicating that final 2025 fiscal results, to be announced on 22 April 2026, are expected to show a stronger-than-anticipated surplus, creating additional fiscal space under the EU’s new fiscal rules for targeted support. He linked the macroeconomic outlook to the Middle East energy shock and stressed the need for temporary, targeted national measures aligned with ECB monetary policy and the European Commission’s framework. He also outlined priorities on a Savings and Investment Union, AI governance, and accelerating work on the digital euro, envisaged for 2029, to bolster the euro’s international role.